A Stranger in a Strange Land
by Dreams on Wings
Summary: Nearly a year has passed since Mimi's family left Japan. Can she find the strength to keep going in this new world?


A/N: This idea was suggested to me by my chief editor as a sort of Thanksgiving special. I hope you all enjoy! :)

* * *

**A Stranger in a Strange Land**

A mechanical rendition of "Für Elise" pierced through the dark room, intending to startle to consciousness all living things within. Ironically however, the only living being in range of the morning song stirred minimally beneath the pink comforter decorated with green flowers, before reaching out an arm to put a stop to the annoying disturbance. The digital alarm clock, also colored a delicate pink, was immediately silenced, and all was calm again. The being under the comforter stirred once more and, satisfied with the quiet, quickly fell still.

The door burst open abruptly, the hallway light chasing away the darkness. Feet swiftly shuffled across the white carpet to the window, where the silky and (unsurprisingly) pink curtains were pulled back. It was not quite sunrise yet, but the glow of morning twilight was enough to brighten the room even more. The figure in the bed stirred again, this time accompanied by small groans.

"Mimi-chan!" the intruder sang sweetly. "Six o' clock! The day has begun! Time to get up!"

Grabbing her pillow, the preteen buried her head beneath the marshmallow-like object. If only it was a marshmallow… Maybe she could eat it…

"Mimi-chan!" the voice nagged again. A chill swept over the girl's body as her pink comforter was mercilessly tugged away in one fell swoop. She instinctively assumed the fetal position to save what warmth was left; only a moment later did she sense through her eyelids that the lights had been turned on.

"Come now! Up!"

The third warning. She knew her pillow would be next, and so, Tachikawa Mimi arose, her light-brown eyes squinting into the brightness. She barely made out her mother's figure so early in the morning.

"Now Mimi-chan, I'm making scrambled eggs and hash-browns for breakfast," Satoe continued in her carefree tone. "Do you want orange juice and bacon, too?"

Rubbing her eyes, the girl nodded slowly, and a moment later, her mother paraded out of her daughter's room, happily rambling about some other parade of sorts. Finally adjusted to the light, Mimi looked at her alarm clock and groaned. 6:05. Not even 7 o' clock… Not even 6:30! She couldn't believe how early she had to get up for middle school here in New York. If she were still in Japan, she could sleep in until at least 7. If she were still in Japan, she would still be in elementary school, since junior high/middle school started at seventh and not sixth grade. If she were still in Japan, her mother would be preparing natto instead of eggs and bacon. If she were still in Japan, she would be settling in to watch some evening television right now after a nice family dinner consisting of rice, miso, and maybe mackerel, all deliciously devoured with a pair of chopsticks. If she were still in Japan…

But she wasn't. The reality of it all had hit her only when she had boarded the plane just last year. The school term had just ended, a few days before Christmas. All of her friends had come to see her off. Scratch that: all of her true friends had come to see her off. Mii, Taako, and Ai had opted to catch some last-minute Christmas sales that day, reasoning that Mimi would be back soon enough to visit; only Taichi, Hikari, Sora, Koushiro, Jou, Yamato, and even Takeru - who had traveled all the way from Nagano on his own just for this - had come to say good-bye. It was only them, but they were more than enough. She had cried, as expected (Taichi had taken the liberty of reminding her that she was the least likely of them to hold back tears), and even though a final group hug had calmed her down, the pain lingered in her chest. As grateful as she was - as much as she loved each and every one of them, their very presence reminded her of what she was leaving behind. It wasn't just Japan, the place of her childhood, the only home she knew; it was the friends she had made in a matter of one summer adventure, the friends who had lived through the same dangers, who had teased her for her prissiness but had defended her unconditionally, who had kept her from losing herself…

One year later, here she was: Mimi Tachikawa, age 12, sixth grade student at Levy Middle School, staring down from her 9th-floor window at "The City That Never Sleeps." It hadn't been a bad year, but in this moment of nostalgia, she sank to the floor as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She wanted - no, she needed her friends right now. But seven of them were in Japan, and one was in the Digital World, neither of which was anywhere within reach.

* * *

"So Mimi, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

Donning her friendliest smile, the girl turned to the blonde who sat behind her in class.

"My family will be staying home this week, but my Aunt Yuka wanted to take me somewhere after school today." The English words rolling off her tongue felt uncomfortable, alien even. Even still, she had managed to stay afloat for eleven months, hadn't she?

"That's nice," her classmate replied. "I'm staying home, too, and then I'm going shopping with my mom and my sister on Black Friday. Would you like to come? I mean, if it's all right with your parents, of course."

"O-oh." The invitation had been so unexpected that Mimi first refused in Japanese, only to repeat herself in English after seeing the other student's confused look. Bowing, the embarrassed girl concluded with, "Thank you very much, have a safe vacation!" before running off to meet her aunt outside the school. Her cheeks flushed even redder as she made her way through the crowded hallways; what 12-year-old American bowed to a classmate?

She burst through the front doors, a cold, autumn breeze splashing against her pale face; a short distance ahead, a car horn blared at the young girl. Mimi covered her face in embarrassment when she identified the honk-happy driver as her father's older sister, Yuka, seated proudly in the front of her hot pink Hummer H1.

"Mimi-chan! Over here!" the older woman called obnoxiously in their native Japanese. Parents, teachers, and students all around shot wary looks at the tiny woman, still pressing the car horn rhythmically. Instinct told the girl to turn and run as far away from this embarrassing situation as possible, but previous experience taught her that her aunt would stalk her in that gaudy automobile until she got into the passenger seat. Pushing aside the humility (for now), Mimi practically stomped across the wet lawn in 2 seconds flat to her awaiting carriage.

"How was school?" Yuka began conversationally as she pulled abruptly into traffic.

"It was fine," her niece replied, jerking into the car door from the maneuver. "We pretty much just partied all day, so there was no work or anything. I just don't understand why we had to come to school if we weren't going to do anything productive."

"American schools are quite a bit different from Japanese schools, aren't they?"

"Really, really different!"

"But aren't you glad you get more days off?"

"Mm…"

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Mimi's right elbow was propped against the car door, and her chin rested against her hand as she gazed blankly at the passing concrete-and-steel scenery.

"What's the point of having more vacation if you spend the entirety of it in your apartment…?"

An outsider might scold the young girl for being too lazy or unmotivated, but Yuka could read between the lines. As shallow as her niece was capable of being at times, there was always more meaning to her statements.

"Have you made any friends yet?"

"No one I can really hang out with." The words escaped her mouth just before she remember her classmate's offer to go shopping that Friday, the very offer she had refused in two different languages only minutes before. "By the way, Aunt Yuka, where are we going?"

At this, the older woman grinned somewhat mischievously. She began to turn to face Mimi, when the younger girl screamed to watch out for oncoming traffic. Completely unfazed, Yuka quizzed, "You know of Plymouth, Mimi-chan?"

"Yes," she replied, "that's where the Pilgrims landed, right? I learned about that a few weeks ago in social studies. They came across the Atlantic Ocean on a tiny ship called the Mayflower and then arrived on the North American continent at Plymouth, which is up somewhere in-"

Mimi froze. She whipped her head around toward her aunt. The mischievous grin, which appeared to curl inward at the edges like the Grinch, was still plastered across Yuka's face. The girl's mind was racing at a thousand miles per second. She might not have been the brightest among her friends, but she certainly wasn't dumb.

"WE'RE GOING TO MASSACHUSETTS?"

* * *

For the thousandth time in the past 24 hours, Mimi's head banged against the window with a jolt.

"We're here!"

Barely stirring, the rugged sleeping beauty cracked open her eyelids. She could make out blue… a lot of blue. Part of it was obviously the sky, gradually growing lighter and lighter in the early morning hours, but unless they were on a mountain, there was no way the atmosphere could seemingly take up that much of the scene before her.

"Aunt Yuka… what is…?"

Always the one who loved surprises, Yuka merely jumped out of the Hummer and shut the door behind her, leaving her niece in suspense. The younger girl's droopy eyes followed her aunt around the car and up a little ways to a building of some sort; the lighting still wasn't ideal for seeing yet. She shot a glance at the green numbers on the dashboard. 6:50 a.m. Had they driven all night? If so, where were they now that they had to travel so far for so long? Although, knowing her aunt, she had probably driven in circles at some point.

Mimi heard her aunt's muffled voice calling for her to join her at the mysterious structure, and promptly, she obeyed, shutting the door slowly behind her. A strong, cold wind immediately greeted her, prompting the girl to shut her eyes and shield her face. She gasped for air and tasted salt on her tongue, this sensation that she had grown accustomed to growing up in Odaiba… The ocean…

Coming closer to the building, Mimi could see that it was an open structure, a stone roof supported by Greek columns, and it seemed to be housing something in the middle. Yuka's hand grabbed hers and gently led her inward; they now stood at a black rail, and encircled in the center of this barrier, reflecting the first rays of sunrise, was a rock.

A rock…

"Mimi-chan," came Yuka's voice, almost in a whisper, "do you know what this is?"

Based on their conversation the previous day, their seaside location, and the national holiday that was upon them, Mimi should have known, but it seemed so unlikely. This rock - this very stone - was where the Pilgrims…

"I didn't think it was an actual rock," the girl finally said. Her aunt chuckled.

"Things aren't always what they turn out to be, are they?" Yuka stretched happily while Mimi continued to stare at the simple marker. "But you know, a lot of times, it turns out a lot better than people expected. 381 years ago, the Pilgrims left behind everything - the only home they ever knew, even good friends - and came here, where they knew nobody and were unfamiliar with the land. They didn't know what would happen, not even if they would survive, especially after that first winter. But they did survive, and they even made friends with the locals. Heck, if it wasn't for the locals, the rest of them probably would've died that second winter!"

Yuka looked down at her niece. Her eyes had not moved from the rock resting in the sand, and so, the older woman continued. "Can you imagine how happy the Pilgrims were when they had more than enough food to last them through the winter? I mean, they must've had a lot if they decided to feast for three days straight in celebration."

"They felt blessed, right?" Mimi added quietly.

"Yeah, and because they felt blessed, they were thankful. A lot of good things happened, but at the same time, a lot of bad things didn't happen. Things could've been a lot worse; the natives could've attacked instead of befriended them, storms could've wiped out their homes…"

Mimi breathed deeply, her gaze still locked on the revered rock.

"I guess this past year could have been a lot worse," she admitted. Being separated from her friends, having to start over, learning a new language, the attack about two-and-a-half months ago… All of it had been difficult, no one could deny that. Still, she was alive and healthy, and her friends would still welcome her back with open arms. That was enough reason to smile.

"Aunt Yuka," Mimi began, "you wouldn't happen to have a bottle in your Hummer, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," came the reply. "What for?"

"I want to bring home some sand…"

A minute or two later, the young girl was squatting on the tiny beach in front of the monument, scooping sand into the washed soda bottle. The sun was now halfway over the horizon, shining unrestrainedly on the site. Mimi wondered if the same sunrise had greeted the Pilgrims when they first landed at Plymouth Rock, when they first tread this very sand. Were they excited? Scared? Happy to feel land beneath their feet again? Did they feel anxious just as she had, when she had first stepped off the plane at Kennedy Airport? All of these questions flooded her mind at once. They had lived in drastically differently eras, and yet, their plight seemed so familiar to hers, which - quite frankly - didn't seem so terrible after all. They had left everything and come here, where they knew nothing, with only hope and faith to guide them, and those who already lived there - instead of turning a blind eye - willingly extended the hand of friendship. The only difference between Mimi and the Pilgrims now, was that their story had already ended. They had survived.

So would she.


End file.
